Private Schools Violating Telangana Government Orders?
For the academic years 2020-2021, the government order laid down rules on school fees. The order said that schools should not raise school fees and not only that but only monthly tuition fees should be collected. The order also warned that, “Non-compliance of the above instructions will result in cancellation of school recognition, revoking the No Objection Certificate already granted for affiliation to other boards and initiation of appropriate action against the school management under relevant Acts/Rules.”
In the month of March, many parents paid their children's fees, and the GO made them happy. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting jobs and pay cuts, parents figured the intervention of the government would go a long way to giving them relief.
However, to people's disappointment, schools soon started changing the heads under which the fees were collected because only tuition fees can be collected by the schools listed in the GO.
Siva Balaji and his wife Madhumitha are raising their voice against a private school stating that the school management is demanding more fees amidst coronavirus crisis. Siva Balaji said that the names of their children have been removed from the list of online classes. He further added that most of the private schools are following the trend of collecting more fees from parents.
Recently, film star Siva Balaji and his wife Madhumitha reportedly filed a complaint against Mount Litera Zee School, Manikonda, Hyderabad, in the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for allegedly disconnecting their children's online classes without prior notice. Siva Balaji also claimed that the school was 'pressuring and blackmailing' parents for school fees.
Actress Madhumita urged Telangana Chief Minister KCR to look into the matter. She said that the Mount Litera school is harassing students and their parents over fees. She further added that they are demanding more fees even after paying 35 % of the tuition fee.
Another parent of a student studying in Niraj Public School said that the management combined the lunch fees with the tuition fees. He further added that most of the parents refused to pay the fees but the school management didn't reduce the fees as per the GO and the students who didn't pay fees were not allowed to attend the online exams that have been conducted in the first week of September.
Seema Agarwal, an Executive Member of the Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) said that the "Parents' concerns are being ignored, and the government seems to be listening only to private schools.” The HSPA had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the same in the Telangana High Court and it is in the advanced stage of hearing.